Mirror
by kkenthusiac15
Summary: A woman bought an ancient mirror at an antique shop, and so does a man at another shop. When they hung it on their respective walls, they can’t see their reflections but sees the reflection of the other…KK, modern.edited!


Hi fellas! It's me again. I hope you can put up with this story. I hope you would like it. REVIEWS will be very, very, very appreciated.

Please be gentle, I am a newbie here! But I openly accept constructive criticisms!

Summary: A woman bought an ancient mirror at an antique shop, and so does a man at another shop. When they hung it on their respective walls, they can't see their reflections but sees the reflection of the other…

Disclaimer: I don't own anything….

**NOTE:**

"**dialogues"**

_**The lines in italics is their Past life**_

…………………………………………..

"_I'll be going to Kyoto tomorrow. Wanna come?"_

"_I'd rather stay here at the dojo."_

_The smaller girl pouted her lips to the one with long raven hair._

"_Fiiiiiiine."_

_The smaller girl rejoiced at her friend's response_

………

The door creaked open, to reveal a silhouette of a petite woman. The heavy steps of the woman told that she had a grueling day. She opened the lights of the whole house, made her way to her kitchen, and opened the refrigerator to get some fruits and a bottle of water. The petite woman slumped down the plush cushion of the dining table's chair; she was eating quietly when her mobile phone rang.

"Hi Misao." her voice had 'I am so tired! Speak up so I can rest' tone.

"Hey Kaoru, I was just wondering if you can come with me tomorrow at the mall. I have to buy a gift for Aoshi and I would really appreciate your opinion on some selections I have." Her voice had a very hopeful tone.

"Misao, if it's too early, then I'm sorry, I can't come. I need to rest the whole morning. I had a very busy day today." Kaoru munched the pieces of grapes she plopped in her mouth.

"Oh okay. Is two o'clock p.m. fine?" Misao, her best friend, understood that her work is very tiring. The day would start with a few meetings followed by a pile of paperwork then the executive officer's meeting, and who knows when it will end.

"Two o'clock is fine."

"Yes! Thank you so much! Pick you up at two okay?"

"I have a car, you know. No need for you to bother." She slightly let out a laugh at her best friend's enthusiasm when it comes to her boyfriend, Aoshi.

"Oh no, I'll pick you up. You might get tired from driving. It's the least I can do."

"If that's what you really want, then I'll see you here at two." Kaoru felt grateful that Misao is going to fetch her because the drive to their favorite mall is a one and a half hour trip.

"Thanks!"

"Bye."

After that, they both hung up. Kaoru really had an exhausting day, she is an executive at a company and she had tons of meetings that day. Kaoru also had a mountain of papers to review and approve (or reject, for that matter).

Kaoru finished the bowl of fruits she previously snatched from the refrigerator then put the bowl in the sink, deciding to wash it tomorrow. She entered her luxurious bathroom and filled the tub with warm water, at the same time, dumped some 'bubble bath' liquid into the water to complete her bath. She really needed that warm bathe to relax her nerves and calm her screaming muscles. When Kaoru was contented with the level of the water, she removed her clothes and dumped them at the laundry bin and gleefully stepped into the warm, relaxing bath.

………

"_I'm going to Kyoto with Misao tomorrow."_

"_Is something wrong with her and Aoshi?"_

"_I don't think there's something wrong, but, I think something's definitely up."_

"_Is that so? Then have a safe trip tomorrow."_

_The girl in front of him just smiled._

"_Don't destroy the dojo, okay?"_

"_I'm not the one who likes to destroy the dojo, that I am not. Sano is the one who makes that a hobby though."_

_She giggled in response._

"_When will you be back?" the masculine voice said._

"_I don't know when exactly. But I'm sure to be back this week."_

Then they shared the silence of the night… 

………..

Kaoru retreated to her bedroom after her bath, wearing one of the hundreds of tank tops in her closet and a pair of shorts. She crawled into the comfort of the silk sheets of her bed. After a couple of seconds after she rested her head on her pillow, slumber succumbed her.

…….

"_Goodnight." The male voice whispered to the woman who was retreating to her room._

"_Goodnight. Oh by the way, I'll be leaving early in the morning tomorrow so don't be wondering if you'll not see me in my room, okay?"_

"_Okay. Have a safe trip." He smiled at her before she finally entered her room._

………………………………………….

(At another place)

A sports car is heading its way to its driver's house. Inside the car, the digital clock of the car beeped, telling the person inside that it is 1:00 in the morning.

"Damn these late night meetings." The masculine voice murmured under his breath.

The driver's car finally came to a stop in front of his house's front door. After he checked the locks of the gate and the garage, he entered the house, not making a single noise and went straight to his bedroom. Not minding to turn the lights on, he jumped on the bed and went fast asleep.

…………………………………………

"_Hey…hey…hey…"_

_Someone was budging her out of her sweet sleep. She was dreaming about one of the people she 'adopted' in her house…_

"_What!" She partially screamed at the person who dared wake her up._

"_Cool it, girl. Or have you forgotten our trip to Kyoto?"_

"_Ugh…" Was the woman's only response._

"_Have you prepared your things?" Misao put her hands on her waist._

"_Yes…" The woman buried her face between the thick sheets of the futon._

"_Then let's go!" the smaller woman with waist-long braid pulled the woman with long raven hair out of bed._

"_Misao! I am still in my sleeping yukata! Hold still for a minute."_

"_Huuuurrrrryyyyy uuupppppp……." The smaller woman continued to pester the taller one._

_After she had prepared everything, the two women went out of the dojo and went on their way to the train to Kyoto._

_The morning's sunrays slid through the thin shoji doors. He flickered his eyes open. _

_After getting rid of all the traces of sleep, he changed into his usual gi and hakama and went to a room. The shoji door leading to the woman's room opened quietly, to reveal the head of a man._

"_I guess she left the dojo for their trip too early. I should've got up earlier…"_

_Then the shoji door closed, and will not be opened for a couple of days…Not until the woman arrives from her trip._

……..

The alarm of her clock woke her from her deep sleep.

"Ugh… What time is it?" She asked to no one in particular as she grabbed bedside clock and saw it was ten in the morning.

She smashed her nose on her pillow. But after five minutes she decided to get up and have her late-morning breakfast. The woman the night before stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom; her long hair was crumpled by sleep and her smooth face was a bit pale from not eating yet. After staring at herself, she turned the faucet on and rinsed her face with the cold water, careful not to splash it on her clothes. Then she patted her soft towel on her face.

"Good as new."

Then she went to her bedside table and picked up her brush. Her hair was now the beautiful, shiny hair everyone envied. When she felt her stomach complaining, she went down to her kitchen and snatched some food from the refrigerator (again).

(At another place)

The loud knocks on his door woke him up from his snooze. He grumpily went to the front door and opened the door.

"Sano, do you know what time is it?" He gave the person in front of him a big yawn while stretching his hands up in the air.

"Kenshin, it's half past ten and……why are you wearing your attire yesterday?" Sano entered his friend's house.

"What brings you here?" The small man inquired the taller.

"Before I tell you everything, can you take a bath first? Honestly, this is the first time you went to bed not taking a bath. You _are_ the clean one, after all."

"Sano I was so tired from the late night meeting I had with the staff. If I took a bath, then I would most likely to fall asleep in my tub." Kenshin went to his coffee-making machine to start it; everyone needs his or her caffeine, right?

"Fine, fine. Take a bath now okay" Sano said as he pushed Kenshin to the bathroom.

………..

"_Do you miss her? It has been three days since she left…"_

"_Sano…" His voice carried a sort of warning tone._

"_What? Are you not a bit worried about her?"_

"_I am certainly worried. But I trust that she can handle herself. Besides Misao is with her."_

"_Well, in that case, there's no need to worry. She has that freakin' weasel with her."_

…….

"What brings you here?" Kenshin asked the man in front of him. Sano only comes to his house when (1) he wants to eat (2) if he wants to drag him out of his house to have a 'good time' and (3) if he needs something. His friend never went to his house only to 'visit'.

"Weeeeeeeeellllll….. I was going to ask for your help."

"With what?" Kenshin poured the brewed coffee into two mugs, then handed one to Sano

"Weeeeeeeeelllll…… I have decided to propose to Megumi." Sano scratched the back of his head.

"I thought you two had a quarrel last night coz you were flirting with other girls." Kenshin emphasized the word _flirting_.

"My proposal will be the way to show how serious I am with her. So you gonna help me or what?"

"If I say no, I bet you'd pull me out of my seat and drag me to the jewelry shop." Kenshin knew his best friend too well.

"Ya right there buddy!" Sano slapped Kenshin on the back

……………………………………….

She turned her TV off when she heard the familiar honk of her friend's car.

"Hi Kaoru. Thanks again for going with me today." Misao said as Kaoru sat down in her car.

"You owe me a latte!" Kaoru buckled her seatbelt securely.

"You sneak!"

They both giggled and Misao drove off.

(At the mall)

"Misao, I think platinum necklaces are better than an aquarium of goldfish." Kaoru said. Truthfully, she did not expect Misao to pick between goldfishes and a platinum necklace. Honestly, necklaces are better than fishes! Besides, with Aoshi's busy schedule, she doubt that he would have time to look at the fishes.

"You think so? Won't Aoshi love the fishes?"

"I think he would not like taking care of another life form." Kaoru added a joking tone to her voice.

"Hey! Are you trying to say that he doesn't like taking care of life forms such as me!"

"I'm not trying to say anything, Misao, I'm not trying to say anything." Kaoru said while she giggled at her friend.

…….

"Kenshin, would Megs like the diamond or the ruby?" Sano said, holding up two rings and inspecting it thoroughly.

"Diamonds _are_ women's best friend." Kenshin really thought that diamonds look classier than rubies.

"Are they?" His face scrunched due to his oblivion.

"Honestly Sano, don't you know that saying?" Kenshin's right brow rose at his friend's unbelievable lack of…..facts in his head.

"Heh-heh…" Sano scratched the back of his head. Well, no one can blame him if he doesn't know that thing about diamonds!

"You always surprise me Sano. You always surprise me…"

"So, is it gone be rubies?"

Kenshin only rolled his eyes at his friend's idiocy.

…………

"Thanks for the latte, Misao." Kaoru said as they were walking between the numerous shops in the mall. Then, something caught her eye, and she walked towards it, not listening to her friend's response.

"You're wel……..hey!" Misao shouted after her friend, who was walking briskly towards an antique shop. A second she was thanking her next she was there, eyeing something in that historic shop.

Kaoru gently traced the carving of a mirror with her delicate forefinger.

"What is it Kaoru?" Misao asked, looking at her friend's interest with the mirror.

"Don't you think this would look lovely in my living room?" Kaoru whispered without looking at Misao. She just couldn't take her eyes off that mirror!

"Now that you have mentioned it…Yeah. It will go well with the wooden table you have." She shifted her gaze towards the mirror her friend likes.

The mirror Kaoru eyed was nice. Complicated wooden carvings framed the mirror; and the frame wasn't as bulky as others.

"Do you like this, miss?" The voice distracted her from the mirror. The owner of the husky voice was an old stout man, maybe in his mid fifties. The man was taller than Misao by, let's say, an inch. He wore tiny spectacles that rested on the bridge of his nose.

"I would like to take this, Mister. How much is it?" Kaoru could not take her hands off the mirror, it is as if she were attracted to that old thing.

"Whoa, miss. First of all, do you know that this mirror has a history?"

"A history?" Kaoru and Misao chorused.

"Yes, misses. A History." The stubbly-chinned man approached them.

"Can you tell us about it?" Kaoru said, obviously intrigued b the story behind the mirror.

"Oh of course. Please come in and sit first." The man led them towards a tea table located at the middle of the shop.

"Miss, before you buy that, I must first tell you the story of that mirror."

Kaoru and Misao looked at one another then at the man in front of them. The man, obviously the owner of the shop, started to tell the tale.

"In the late 1800's a woman bought two mirrors from a vendor in Kyoto. And this is one of the mirrors."

"What happened to the other mirror, Sir?" Misao cut the man from his narration.

"Let me tell the whole story…." then he continued, "The woman was said to have bought two mirrors; one for her and the other one, identical to this, for her friend. Eventually, when she came home, she gave the mirror to her friend. But certain events led the woman to her death. When she was struggling with her breath, she told her friend how much she loved him. And her friend also said that he loved her." There was a couple of seconds of silence before he continued. "Then the woman said, before her breath left her, that they were unlucky that they were unable to be together in that lifetime. So she promised to the man that, in the next lifetime, she would find a way for them to have a happy ending."

"What did the man say to her?" Kaoru now inquired the owner of the shop, her face in despair at the sad story behind the mirror.

"The man cried at his love's near death. He promised that he would find her. With his promise, the woman closed her eyes for eternity." The man replied to her.

"What happened to the man and the mirrors after the girl died?" Kaoru said, she pitied the two lovers.

"Well, others say that the man buried the mirrors under the tree in the lot of their dojo. With the man, you ask? Well, let's say that's history." He said as he straightened his eyeglasses.

"If the man buried the mirrors, then how come one is in your possession?" Misao asked the man.

"That, I don't know. I just bought this mirror a long time ago from a friend."

"I would still like to take the mirror, Mister." Kaoru announced. She really was attracted to this mirror.

"Kaoru, are you sure? You know, the story behind this is a bit freaky…" Misao whispered to Kaoru when the shop owner turned his back to them.

"I am sure Misao." Her voice had a definite tone that stopped Misao from convincing her not to buy the Mirror.

"I'll wrap the mirror for you Miss." The man took the mirror and wrapped it in layers of scratch paper.

"Thank you Sir." She paid the man and bowed to him before they left.

………

"_I'M HOME!" The woman shouted when she entered the dojo. Her hands were full of several baggages._

"_Welcome home." Her friend said to her, giving her his usual sweet smile. "What do you have there?"_

"_Oh! I almost forgot! I have something for you." She rummaged through her bags and with a grin, handed him something wrapped in brown paper._

"_What is it?" His face tilted to his right as he accepted the thing his friend had bought for him._

"_Open it. I hope you would like it…" The eyes of the lady glistened as she waited for her friend to open the gift she gave._

_He smiled at her before he tear the paper wrappings of whatever it is in there._

"_Wow, this is really pretty." The male voice said, admiring the mirror in front of him._

"_I bought an identical to that one, for me. I thought you could use this when you comb your hair." She was glad that he appreciated the simple gift she gave._

"_Thank you. I really like it. Wait, I'll hang it on my wall." He said, turning his back to her, heading towards his room. She smiled at the retreating figure of her beloved friend. After he friend had entered his room, she went in her own and dropped the things she carried. Carefully, she hung the other mirror against the wall of her room and smiled, seeing her reflection on the mirror…_

……..

"Kenshin, what do you think I'll do? Go to her house and propose or ask her out first?" Sano said as they walked at the sidewalk of an avenue. The avenue was filled with various shops, ranging from jewelry to scraps.

"Sano, I think the latter one is better option."

"Thanks, you really have those wheels working in ya."

Suddenly Kenshin grabbed his friend's wrist. "Sano, wait." Then Kenshin turned to the opposite direction and trotted towards a shop of second-hand items.

"I didn't know you were interested in second hand stuff. You have lots of money to but brand new stuff…Wait!" Sano jogged towards the store his friend went in. Kenshin ignored the comments his friend gave; he just walked in the shop and eyed a mirror.

"Didn't know you were interested with your reflection." Sano said as he also looked at the mirror, but his friend just ignored him.

"Mister, I want to take this mirror." Kenshin said as he picked the mirror up and placed it on the cashier.

The two stepped out of the shop. Sano waved goodbye to his friend to prepare for his proposal to Megumi. Kenshin went in his sports car and went to the road leading to his home…

…………………………………..

The sound of paper being torn apart was the only audible thing in the house.

Kaoru excitedly hung her new mirror against the cream color of her living room wall. The new mirror did match the table she had.

…….

Kenshin went straight to his room; he removed the mirror from the plastic bag it previously occupied and hung it at the wall near his bed. He stared at his reflection; carefully, he lifted his right hand and touched the intricate carvings of the thin frame of the mirror.

…….

Kaoru carefully pulled away the cloth that covered the mirror. When the mirror was exposed, she couldn't help but stare at herself.

…….

Kenshin's reflection slowly blurred. He withdrew his hand that previously traced the frame of the mirror. What he saw really freaked him out. The background was black; the only light was from an undecipherable light source, he can see the slight sparkle in the eyes of whoever was in front of him, the bridge of the person's nose was also slightly highlighted by the weak light and the gloss from the person's lips was faintly illuminated by the frail light.

……..

She was shocked at the reflection of something, rather someone, her mirror showed. She stepped back from the mirror. After a few minutes of staring at the reflection and after she had regained from her shock, Kaoru approached the mirror, sliding her fingers against the bottom part of the frame.

It is until she approached the mirror, that she deciphered the form staring at her. The background was slightly dark, the only light was from a sort of sheen from the right corner of the mirror. Kaoru scrunched her face at the barely visible form in front of her. What she only saw was the purple pools of the person in the mirror the person's nose was barely visible, a line of light cascaded at the side of his face that faced the sheen of light.

…….

"What are you?" Kenshin brought his face nearer as he asked the form in front of him.

"What are _you_?" Kaoru repeated his question. Her hands were slowly turning cold due to the fact that she was talking to a strange entity residing in her mirror.

"You can talk…a woman?" Kenshin concluded.

"Definitely a female. From your voice, I presume you're a man." Kaoru thought his voice was nice. The voice wasn't too husky or too girly.

"Yes, I am. Who are you? Are you a lost soul or something?" Kenshin responded.

"I am _not_ a lost soul, mister. Are you?" Kaoru said, her left brow slightly rose at the man she was, unbelievably, spoke to.

"I'm a living soul, that I am. You did not answer my previous question, who are you? And what are you doing in my mirror?" He was starting to freak out with this. It is not in his everyday life that he talks with paranormal entities.

"I'd rather not tell you who I am, I mean what if you _are_ a ghost? All I can say is, I am not a lost soul or a supernatural being, for that matter." Kaoru said, a bit sarcastically.

"Hmmmm… A bit sarcastic, I see…." Kenshin crossed his arms.

"Well, you aren't a ghoul, are you?" Kaoru asked again.

"Definitely not a paranormal being." He said, stressing the word _not_.

"Then, why can I see you through my mirror?" Kaoru's hands were now cold.

"Well, miss, you are in my mirror, too." He couldn't understand why she said he was in her mirror, when the thing is…it is _she_ who is in his mirror!

"This is weird…" She said.

"I agree…" Kenshin nodded approvingly.

Kaoru touched the mirror with her right hand. Kenshin saw the woman in front of him as she placed her small hand on the mirror. He just lifted his left hand and touched he part of the mirror where the woman's hand is. They just stared at the other's reflection, their hands separated by the mirror. Then suddenly, the reflection of the person in front of them started to vanish.

"Wait!" They screamed at each other.

Then, after that, what they saw at the mirror was not the reflection of the other, but their own reflection…

……….

_He heard her scream his name, he ran with his inhuman speed towards her room… When he opened the shoji door, what he saw devastated him… A dagger was stabbed at the part where her heart lies. The person responsible was kneeling on top of her, his grin was crazed._

"_What did you do to her!"_

_He screamed at the person, who possesses white hair and menacing turquoise eyes._

"_Payment for what you did to my sister"_

_He pulled out his reversed-edge sword and attacked the murderer. He reversed the blade of the sword, so that the side to be used was the sharp edged… With one quick slash, he killed the murderer of his beloved. He panted as he ran to her side. Gently, he lifted her head and rested it on his lap._

"_K-kenshin…"_

_His tears streamed down his face because knew that his beloved would die in a few minutes._

"_Kaoru, please don't speak anymore. Save your strength. I'll get you to Dr. Gensai's clinic…" Kenshin said but she cut him off by placing her forefinger at his lips._

"_Sssshhh Kenshin. Both of us know that my life will not reach the end of the day. But before I join my parents, I want you to know that I really, really love you. With all my heart…" She spoke with difficulty, her breath was slowly leaving her. His tears increased tenfold because he never knew she felt the same. All he knew that he was unworthy of her…_

"_K-Kaoru, please… Hear me out first, okay?"_

_Her eyes told him he should continue with what he wanted to say._

"_Kaoru, I truly love you, from the bottom of my heart. Please, please don't leave me…" Kenshin brought his hand up to her face and caressed her bloodstained cheek tenderly._

"_Kenshin, is that true? What you said to me, is that sincere?" Her tears started to pour from her eyes the moment he said what he felt for her._

"_Yes, my love. So please, hold onto me…" Kenshin wiped the tears that started to blur his vision, he wanted to see his Kaoru clearly before she dies…_

"_Kenshin, you know well that he had wounded my heart. And you, an ex-assassin, knows that the most vital part of the human body is the heart. It cannot be simply stitched…" Kaoru shook her head slowly to emphasize her point._

"_Kaoru, please…" Kenshin continued to plead, he hoped that the Gods would hear it. But her hearing started to grow weary, as well as her eyesight. She knew of her near death. But before that, she must promise him something…_

"_Kenshin, listen to me. We are unfortunate we cannot be together in this lifetime. But if we were ever to be born again, I promise you, my heart will find yours…" Her voice was just above a whisper, but Kenshin can still hear him_

"_Kaoru, I promise I will find you. I'm gonna find you. Please remember that." _

"_I love you, Kenshin." She reached her hand out to touch his face but Kenshin grasped it with the hand he previously touched her cheeks with. He brought her hands to his lips and kissed it._

"_Kaoru, I love you so much."_

_With what the man said, the woman closed her eyes for perpetuity. He shook her, hoping she would wake up. But his efforts were futile. He did not want to accept that he would not be able to see her beautiful eyes again, the way they sparkled when she looks at him… When his efforts were still unnoticed by the woman he held, he shouted her name at the heavens, and cried his heart out. The members of their own little family, Sano and Yahiko, stood by the door. Their own tears pouring down their face, melancholic at their incapability to say goodbye to her, and at the fact that they would not see her ever-joyful face. _

………………………….

Kenshin was still dazed by what he saw. He certainly did not imagine that! He sat on his bed and reminisced the previous events. The woman in his mirror intrigued him. He had a thought that he had seen those deep blue eyes somewhere, he just couldn't grasp that memory…

………………………….

Kaoru's legs were jelly-like, due to her previous encounter with the mytery-whoever he is. Carelessly, she sat on her classy couch and tried to gather her scattered thoughts… Kaoru still can't believe she spoke with someone in a mirror.

"Can't tell this to Misao she will surely freak about this. Besides, he won't be able hurt me, anyway…" Kaoru decided to hit the sack early, her mind was full of the silhouette of the enigma she just met…through her mirror.

………………………..

A month has passed; still, Kenshin hasn't seen the lady in his mirror. Each night, after he had arrived from his company, he just stare at the mirror and wait until the lady shows up. But his efforts were useless; the lady never showed up… Later on, he decided that he should drop his foolishness. The lady would not show up if she didn't want to. But he still hoped that someday, they would be able to talk informally. He just felt that there's a link binding him to her.

…….

Every night when Kaoru arrives from work, she would always glance at the mirror but the man she had seen a month ago had not shown up. The man intrigued her. She had this feeling she could not identify, when she saw him.

……..

Kenshin sat by the window of a café. He stared out of the window as he waited for his lunch. The entrance door of the café opened, and then he saw was he was waiting for a month now.

Those blue eyes… He just couldn't believe it! He was not aware that his legs are starting to lead him to her…

….

Kaoru entered the café Misao recommended to her. Misao said that the food there was scrumptious, and that she would love the food offered there. Since this was the only free time she had, she decided to try it out. She sat at the table beside the window. She thought of new marketing strategies she could try to increase the profits of the company, when a tap on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts…

Then she saw it! She saw it again!

Those calm purple eyes… Her mouth dropped and her eyes locked with his.

"Hello, miss." He said, snapping her out of her astonishment.

"H-hi. I- I think we…we…You. I know…you" Her words were scrambled.

"Yes, I think we know each other…" Kenshin said to Kaoru, the one he is destined with…

-END-

That's it! Please don't be confused. They did not remember their past lives. When Kenshin saw her eyes, he approached her, hoping that she is the one he met through his mirror. When she gave the expression that confirmed his theory, he said 'yes, I think we know each other'

REVIEWS please!

Thank you very much!

(kkenthusiac15 bows to the readers)


End file.
